2022 America East Conference Tournament Preview
The 2022 America East conference tournament will tip-off tomorrow when all eight teams in the tournament will be in action. Vermont will enter the tournament as heavy favorites to win it after they dominated America East play with a 17–1 record against conference opponents. In past years, the America East automatic qualifier has gone onto either win or play a competitive first round game in the NCAA Tournament. Vermont has done this countless times but UMBC was the first ever №16 seed to beat a №1 seed in the tournament. We will see if that is the case again this year and our first chance to get a good glimpse will be tomorrow. With that being said, today I will be previewing the 2022 America East conference tournament and give my predictions for each game over the next few days.
Key Teams
Vermont Catamounts
As mentioned above, Vermont will enter the America East tournament as heavy favorites after losing just one game in conference play and posting a 23–5 overall record. They finished the regular season on a five game winning streak after losing by one point in overtime at Hartford on February 14. The Catamounts have a solid offensive attack that averages 74.0 points per game and shoots 48.62% from the field. They shoot the three-pointer especially well, owning a percentage of 35.82% from deep and knocking down 8.6 triples per game. They are also a very low turnover team which is always a good sign for a mid-major team looking to make a run this time of year. They do not beat themselves and rarely make many mistakes on either end of the floor. On offense, the Catamounts are mainly led by two players: Ryan Davis, who averages 17.2 points per game, and Ben Shungu, who averages 15.8 points per game. In the lone conference loss to Hartford, Davis did not play so having him on the floor is a must for Vermont. Defensively, the Catamounts are even better than what they are on offense. They allow just 61.5 points per game while holding opponents to just a 41.36% field-goal percentage. They play solid fundamental defense and rarely foul. Vermont does so many things right that it is hard to find something to gripe about them. They will be a tough team to take down in the America East tournament unless they fall apart on the defensive end.
UMBC Retrievers
During the 2017–2018 season when UMBC went onto beat Virginia in the NCAA Tournament, they first entered the America East conference tournament as a №2 seed. That just shows that the Retrievers are very capable of doing that again this year if other teams are not careful. UMBC posted a 12–4 record in conference play which helped elevate their record to 25–11. They score 73.9 points per game which is very similar to the amount of points that Vermont scores per game. Their percentage from the field sits at 44.39% which is towards the middle of the pack nationally, but they shoot an excellent 37.52% from behind the three-point line. The Retrievers have three players averaging double-digit points per game which means that they can be very difficult to stop on the offensive end. The main difference between UMBC and Vermont is that UMBC has nowhere near the kind of defense that Vermont has. The Retrievers give up 71.7 points per game which is ranked 245th in the country. Their three-point defense is what is especially concerning as they allow opponents to shoot 35.3% from deep against them. Those numbers are not going to do you any favors against a good shooting team like Vermont or against any of the top seeds that a team like them might face in the NCAA Tournament. While the Retrievers could very well win the tournament, their defense will have to improve significantly in order for them to do so.
Key Players
Ryan Davis, Vermont (17.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.3 SPG, 57.9 FG%, 40.0 3FG%)
Ben Shungu, Vermont (15.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 52.1 FG%, 43.6 3FG%)
Keondre Kennedy, UMBC (15.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 49.7 FG%, 40.3 3FG%)
Jayden Martinez, New Hampshire (14.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 46.5 FG%, 41.7 3FG%)
Austin Williams, Hartford (16.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.3 SPG, 50.2 FG%, 32.0 3FG%)
Quarterfinal Predictions
№8 NJIT vs. №1 Vermont
Prediction: Vermont
№5 Albany vs. №4 Hartford
Prediction: Hartford
№7 UM Lowell vs. №2 UMBC
Prediction: UMBC
№6 Binghampton vs. №3 New Hampshire
Prediction: New Hampshire
Semifinal Predictions
№4 Hartford vs. №1 Vermont
Prediction: Vermont
№3 New Hampshire vs. №2 UMBC
Prediction: UMBC
Championship Prediction
№2 UMBC vs. №1 Vermont
Prediction: Vermont
Not trying to take away anything from UMBC or any other team in the America East, but no other team in the conference is anywhere near as good as healthy Vermont team. The Catamounts thrive on both ends of the floor and their suffocating defense keeps them in games even when their offense might be struggling. If UMBC comes out shooting well, they might be able to keep this one close for a little while. But, Vermont has a much better defense and with similar offenses, I have a tough time believing that the Retrievers would be able to pull off the upset.
